Sea Salt: Hype or Health

Ahhh salt.  We have to have some.. but not too much.

I’ve never been concerned about buying healthier salt.  I never wanted to pay extra money for something we should be cutting back on anyway!  And I’m pretty skeptical about most products touted to be healthier.  A recent recipe got me curious enough to check out some Sea Salt at the store.

Upon arriving at the store and looking at the sea salt, I noticed almost all of them said they do not contain Iodine!  A- Wha-Whaaat??   I’m love my iodized salt. Without it, we would be a nation full of goiters!  Who wants a goiter? Not me!  I almost didn’t want to buy the sea salt. But for $2.50, I gave in cause it had the little turny thing that grinds the salt.

sea salt

Pro’s:

  • Sea salt is minimally processed- right from the sea.
  • People may prefer the taste
  • People prefer the texture
  • Trace minerals are present

Con’s

  • It’s More expensive  (but really not unreasonable)
  • The main composition is sodium and chloride.. same as table salt.
  • It’s still salt, which means… cut back!
  • The trace minerals are probably quite insignificant unless you are consuming large amounts… to which it’s not good for you anyway.

My kids like to add salt to their cooked vegetables and their eggs.

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But remember! The Dietary recommendations are no more than 2400 mg  (or 1 added tsp) of sodium per day. However for children under 8 it is recommended no more than 1900 mg per day.  I’ll be honest, I never feel good about adding salt to my kids food, so why spend the money on sea salt.

Random fact: Did you know that the lasagna at Macaroni Grill has 3900mg of sodium?

What’s your opinion?  Sea salt? Love it or leave it?